Megyn Kelly: Can Fox News Thrive Without Her?

Megyn Kelly is the hottest thing that happened at Fox News over the past five years. Unfortunately, she’ll be leaving. The New York Times has the news about her move to NBC.

“For Megyn Kelly, the shift from Fox News to NBC — where she will host a daily daytime show and a Sunday newsmagazine program — will be a test of whether she can connect with a broader audience in a different format and reach another level of television stardom.”

The article adds that Kelly’s move has broader implications for the television news industry, raising new questions about the future of Fox News, where she has been a countervailing presence in an opinion lineup heavy with right-leaning ideology.

Many Fox News viewers are happy to see Kelly go. [Image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]

Before one assumes that Fox News viewers will miss Kelly, one should read social media as well as the comments after articles on right wing sites. For example, after Breitbart‘s news story about Megyn Kelly’s move, the commenters are unanimously happy to see Kelly go.

As Fox News reports, Kelly gave a heartfelt goodbye to her viewers on Tuesday evening.

“At the close of Tuesday’s Kelly File, Kelly said she felt a ‘human connection’ to her viewers and also treasures that ‘particularly when it comes to my children, who are seven, five, and three,’ signaling that her nighttime schedule was a key factor in her decision.”

Kelly said that she had grown up at Fox and have been given every single chance a young reporter could ask for. She also praised Rupert Murdoch for being very kind to her. Still, a lot of people think Fox News will do just fine without Kelly.

“Fox News is less a lineup of discrete programs and more a cable-news movement with a built-in audience that isn’t going away, no matter how many pundits whine about its old demographic,” says Washington Post columnist Erik Wemple, adding that Fox News will certainly survive the departure of Kelly, especially by its own definition of success.

Anybody who denies the success of Fox News doesn’t look at the ratings, which are reported on daily by Showbuzz Daily. Fox is far ahead of CNN, MSNBC, and any other cable news station. Part of what makes Fox News so successful is that it is a place for conservatives to escape what they see as the “liberal mainstream media.” Their viewers idolize people like Bill O’Reilly, Tucker Carlson, and Sean Hannity.

Bill O’Reilly is still a major force at Fox News. [Image by Randy Holmes/Getty Images]

Many believe that Megyn Kelly did provide a little bit of balance at Fox, and now that balance will be gone. It’s not known how many people currently turn into Fox News specifically to see Megyn Kelly and The Kelly File. But her move to NBC is seen as a big risk.

As Brian Steinberg of the Boston Globe notes, Kelly has never been tested on daytime talk or weekend news magazine shows. There have been other cable news personalities who have tried daytime talk shows and have failed miserably. Do you think Megyn Kelly is up to the task? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.